It is generally accepted that Rocketry- as a hobby - started world-wide around the late 1950s, a time that we now refer to as the beginning of the "Space Race". The story goes that, Inspired by the massive boosters carrying the first satellites into orbit, many people tried to reach space by making their own rockets, but these rockets tended to be made of steel pipes filled with explosive chemicals and were more likely to blow up rather and actually fly.

Although there were many wanna-be rocketeers in the early days, only a small hanfull of early Rocketry Pioneers in South Africa we are able to actually produce stable rockets, with members of the Amateur Rocketry Experimental Group and the South Africa Rocket Research Group (led by Desmond Prout-Jones) being at the forefront of Amateur and "educational" rocketry research.

Sadly only a small handfull South African rocketeers have enjoyed (limited) access to commercial motors produced by the likes of Estes, Quest, Aerotech and others, with the result that rocketry in South Africa has largely relied on the research and use of "research" or "home-brewed" fuels.

The upside is, that there is not a single account of injury as a result of a rocket launch in South Africa- if anything this is a testament to the high level of knowledge and concideration for Safety by the South African rocketeers.

Following a draged out regulatory process, the Chairman of Rocketry SA, Stéfan Stoltz, started challenging the status quo in 2014 and with renewed focuss,has championed the process whereby South African's now have the priveledge of legally participating in Model Rocketry.

In 2016, Rocketry SA completed the Motor Compliance Testing process, applied for Certification and received aproval of Estes and Quest Certified Motors, thus paving the way for the future development of Rocketry in South Africa.

Although a number of serious challenges remain, we are confident that these are being addressed and will be overcome in the near future.

Why does Model Rocketry hold such an attraction?

Model Rocketry allows you dream about and launch a model rocket without being seriously harmed or killed in the process!